Ugandan police on Saturday denied claims by the opposition that leader Bobi Wine had been arrested by soldiers, as President Yoweri Museveni moved closer to a decisive re election victory after a tense and disputed poll.
Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform said late on Friday that an army helicopter had landed at his residence in Kampala and that soldiers had forcibly taken him away to an unknown location. The party described the incident as an arrest carried out under military guard.
Image: Abubaker Lubowa
Police rejected the allegation. National police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told a televised news conference that Wine was at his home and was free to move.
“He is not under arrest,” Rusoke said.
Wine and representatives of the National Unity Platform could not be immediately reached for comment.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has accused authorities of widespread fraud during Thursday’s election, which was conducted under a nationwide internet blackout. He has called on supporters to protest, despite a heavy security presence across the country. His party said earlier that he had effectively been placed under house arrest.
The election has been closely watched as a measure of Museveni’s political strength after nearly four decades in power. Museveni, 81, has ruled Uganda since 1986 and is seeking another term after constitutional changes removed age and term limits.
Preliminary results released by the electoral commission showed Museveni with nearly 72 percent of the vote, while Wine trailed with 24 percent. More than 90 percent of polling stations had been counted by Saturday morning.
Although voting day passed largely peacefully, the campaign period was marked by repeated clashes at opposition rallies and what the United Nations described as widespread repression and intimidation.
Violence nonetheless broke out in the early hours of Friday in Butambala, about 55 kilometres south west of Kampala. Police and a local member of parliament offered sharply different accounts of what happened.
Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said opposition supporters armed with machetes attacked a police station and a vote tallying centre. She said officers responded in self defence and arrested 25 people.
But area legislator Muwanga Kivumbi disputed that version, telling reporters that the victims were killed inside his home while waiting for parliamentary election results.
“They killed 10 people inside my house,” he said, adding that supporters had gathered to await confirmation of his victory.
The unrest has deepened fears of post election instability, even as Museveni appears set to extend his rule once again.
